Blast Kills Bomb Squad Pair In Thai South

[webfact]

Blast kills bomb squad pair in Thai south: police

NARATHIWAT (AFP) - Two bomb disposal policemen were killed and nine other people wounded in a blast in the Thai south on Saturday after warnings of New Year violence in the restive region, police said.

The bomb -- the second in Narathiwat province in four days -- went off in front of a stall, killing a 50-year-old police officer. The second victim, whose age is unknown, died in hospital after suffering a shrapnel wound.

The owner of the vegetable stall had alerted authorities after he became suspicious about a motorcycle parked by two teenagers nearby, police said.

After the disposal squad arrived and sealed off the area, the bomb hidden on the motorcycle was detonated by mobile phone, also wounding nine people including onlooking villagers, policemen and security volunteers.

Suspected Islamic insurgents have waged a violent campaign in the deep south of Thailand since early 2004, leaving more than 4,400 people dead, both Muslims and Buddhists.

On Tuesday, the government moved to lift emergency rule in a pocket of the troubled area as a test case for the rest of the Muslim-majority region.

The emergency laws -- which give broad powers to security forces -- are being rolled back in Mae Lan district in Pattani, one of three provinces near the Malaysian border which have been subject to the decree since 2005.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-01-02

[webfact]

'Bomb suit' fails, causing 2 deaths in Narathiwat

By The Nation on Sunday

A powerful bomb exploded in Narathiwat yesterday morning, killing two bomb-disposal officers and injuring nine other people, including five Border Patrol police officers.

Police were alerted by a local resident in the southern border province's Sungai Padi district who reported that two young men on a motorcycle left a suspicious object on the roadside. The object was a steel box that was later found to contain a home-made explosive device.

Wearing a "bomb suit", Police Senior Sgt-Major Kitti Mingsuk, 50, was examining the object when the bomb exploded; it was believed to be detonated by a mobile phone. He was killed instantly at the scene while his colleague Sgt-Major Krissada Thong-o, who was about 80 metres away, was seriously injured and pronounced dead after being admitted to hospital.

Four civilians, including a boy, were injured by the impact of the explosion. Two houses next to where the bomb was found were damaged.

The bomb-disposal robot used by the team malfunctioned when it was less than one metre from the suspicious object, prompting Kitti to examine the device. It was then that the explosion occurred, according to Border Patrol Police commander Lt-General Paitoon Choochaiya. When asked why the bomb suit failed to save Kitti's life, Paitoon said that would be investigated by experts.

The incident raised questions about the effectiveness of the bomb suit, as bomb-disposal officers had believed it could protect them from the impact of bombs.

Narathiwat Governor Thanon Vechakornkanont said the explosion occurred near a place the provincial authorities had selected for Buddhists to give alms to monks early in the morning as part of New Year celebrations. Fortunately, rain had forced changes of location.

-- The Nation 2011-01-02

[Somtamnication]

Basic police procedure 101, learnt first day in Police Academy. SEAL OFF AREA. Bombs like these are detonated daily down there via mobile. Where the hell was the cell jammer that each and every one of these brave bomb disposal members should have, alongside their guns?

RIP. That is a job I have no balls to do.

[yellow1red1]

should that read 8 meters for the 2nd officer? 80 m kill range! OMG

[jayjay0]

My Condolences to the family's.

Hard enough living with the terrorists now they have to do it without the major bread earner.

For the most part they are peaceful people. But they are held by fear under the thumb of Islam. So sad.

Edited January 2, 2011 by jayjay0